London Visitor Oyster Card

First, the Visitor Oyster Card is not worth it.

In general, it doesn't matter whether or not you use an Oyster Card or a contactless card. If you use the same card for all journeys, the daily cap is available on both. You can also use payment via Apple Pay or Google Pay on your phone.

If you want to use a railcard or travelcard along for lower payments on public transport, you will need to get an Oyster Card.

If you want an Oyster Card, just buy one at any Underground station including at the airport. You can get them from most ticket machines.

This is completely a matter where personal preference is the way to go. Some love contactless payment. Others love an Oyster Card. If you choose to go with Oyster Card, they are easy to purchase on arrival at a ticket machine.

A blank oyster card cost £10. (If I remember correctly). Then you add money on it. It’s better to just a credit card and tap in and tap out at the entry/exit gates. You will need a separate card for each person.

We still have a London Visitor Card, obtained years ago, long before cellphone payment was possible. It was handy then (even though it needs to be topped up to keep money loaded onto it), and could be very handy if you didn’t want to have your phone out in a Tube station or bus stop. You can get the same effect if you simply use a plastic credit card, but again, you’re waving that card out in public, and losing a Visitor Card carries less risk than losing a credit card.

On our trip in London that just ended a week ago, we used our phones exclusively, to tap-and-pay with a credit card stored in the phone’s Wallet App. Double-click the right-side button on the phone, then hover it over the payment receiver. At the end of the day, or more likely at 2:00AM the next morning, you’ll get a notice on your phone how many Pounds you were charged for that day, with no need to maintain a balance on a Visitor Card.

I agree that if you want to get an Oyster Card and are willing to pay the extra cost for it, then I would just wait till you get to London. It's a lot easier, and I don't even think that you can order one until you get there. Keep in mind that you are paying a chunk of change just to buy the Oyster Card. It's really easier and more cost efficient to just use a contactless credit card (not debit). You can even use Apple Pay with your phone or watch if you want.

The only reason really to get an Oyster card would be if you have kids with you or if you are entitled to a senior or disability railcard. For example, I was in London in early 2024 with two of my grandkids, and they got discounted fares on London public transport. I needed to get an Oyster card for each of them so we could take advantage of that. Considering we were there for 10 days, it made sense to get those. Also, I am hard-of-hearing and wear hearing aids, so I qualify for a disability railcard. This meant that I needed to get an Oyster card so I could use the discount. But I got the Oyster cards after I got to London

Note that if you go the credit card route or by Visitor Card, only one person can use that account for a particular journey. If there’s more than one of you, each person needs a different credit card with a different account number, or a separate Visitor/Oyster Card. If you go by smartphone, you can all use the same credit card on each phone, as the Transport for London system recognizes each distinct phone being used simultaneously, even if each phone is paying with the same credit card account.

First, the Visitor Oyster Card is not worth it

Well, ours is kind-of a neat souvenir, but it was necessary years ago, and a new one today might not be worth £10 just for a card that says “London” with lots of iconic London images. Then again, there are souvenirs that probably don’t last as long, and that can’t double as a way to get around London!

If every penny counts, a Visitor Card does cost £10.50 (plus postage), while an ordinary Oyster Card is 50 pence cheaper, and no postage charge.

I wonder why TfL wouldn’t process your Online order?

I wonder why TfL wouldn’t process your Online order?

Just speculating but their website says it takes 14 to 16 days for standard delivery to the U.S.

For most tourists, contactless is the easiest and cheapest option. There are some specific circumstances where a standard Oyster card has some advantages (e.g., senior railcard, travelcard not starting on a Monday, child between 11 and 15) but those don’t apply to most tourists.

Isn't an Oyster Card contactless payment? Just saying...you need something in your hand to tap in and out no matter what. I have never felt insecure or in danger of losing a credit card while navigating the Tube (nor other places that have similar setups)

"Isn't an Oyster Card contactless payment? Just saying..."

When people in the UK use the term "contactless", they're referring to credit or debit card.

Oyster was a contactless payment card before that feature was available on many bank cards. Once bank cards became contactless, there is less need for an Oyster.

Has anyone any experience with something like this: https://ringpay.com ?

In general but especially for TfL

If it works it would be easy to use and (almost) no risk of dropping it accidentaly.

It's really easier and more cost efficient to just use a contactless credit card (not debit).

I'm not sure what's meant by that. I've not noticed any difference. I've used both types of card. Using my debit card to tap in and out, my current account was debited in the early hours of the following day. With my credit card the total capped amount of around £8.50 for Zones 1/2 travel appeared on my on line statement within 24 hours and I had a month or so to pay.

isn't ring pay a parking app? I haven't heard of any app like that working on Transport for London

I also can't see the difference between using a credit or debit card. I normally use a credit card, but my kids don't have credit cards so just use their debit cards. What's the difference? They're both visa, and both zero liability if lost and misused.

Double-click the right-side button on the phone, then hover it over the payment receiver.

True, but you can make it even easier by enabling Express Transit for a selected card in your Apple Wallet settings. Then you can tap in and out from your phone’s lock screen, rather than having to mess around with the side button. It only works in transit settings, not in stores, etc.
This is even better with an Apple Watch, if you have one. I never had to pull my phone out at the turnstiles, just tapped my watch!

Nigel, the link to ring pay, above, is for an actual ring you can wear to tap in and out, and I presume make other payments

Personally I fancy one of the tap to pay wands you can use with contactless card.:-)

There really is no right or wrong amongst all these different ways to pay, just what works for you. I prefer to use an Oyster card rather than a credit card or phone simply because I am scatty and would constantly misplace them and then panic. With an Oyster card it just sits in the same pocket and if I do lose it , it is not a problem. I can easily get a new one.
Just do what works for you.

I’m with Emma. Prefer the Oyster as I’d be more than upset if I lost a debit or credit card.

Losing an Oyster would be inconvenient but easily replaceable. Plus I adore the card cover I bought at the British Library. It’s Lewis Carroll’s drawings from the original Alice in Wonderland.

Lastly the card and cover fit perfectly in the zippered pocket of my coat.

Convenience!

For those not familiar with US banking regulations there is a distinction between credit and debit cards. Credit cards have better consumer protection. In cases of fraudulent charges (hacked or skimmed charges etc) they are removed from your account pending investigation by your bank. Debit cards are not covered by this rule. So you could be without the missing funds until your bank or financial institution finishes its investigation. Hence why many of us suggest using a credit card.

The consumer regulations on credit and debit cards are similar in the UK and credit cards do have more consumer protection than debit cards. But that does not mean that anyone should specifically avoid using a debit cards. Many people prefer to use a debit card rather than a credit card and I can’t see a significant difference in using one or the other for paying for transport. It’s highly unlikely you are going to need to make a claim, unlike say if you were buying a physical product that might be faulty.

the extra Section 75 protection for credit cards in the UK doesn't start until the purchase is over £100.

Most tap and pay limits (except for payments with a wallet such as Apple Pay) are at £100 so the Section 75 protections would never cover the credit card purchase.

“For an unknown reason, the site will not let me check out and pay”

In August 2024 Transport for London (TfL) suffered its largest major cyberattack and data breach and caused TfL £39 million in damage, disrupting services for three months.

After the 2024 cyberattack TFL/Oyster introduced additional security features, when I now login to my oyster account it requires two-factor authentication, if I add some credit balance online the system requires me to make a mandatory tap-in and tap-out journey within 4 days, otherwise the oyster top up i transferred is auto refunded into my bank account, so even for Britons that don't live near to the oyster/tfl network we have to physically be present at an oyster ticket machine to add credit.

I recall even the TfL website was Geo blocked for weeks after this cyber hack.